Sunday, May 8, 2011

Goodbye, Race for the Cure


For the last several Mothers Days, my cousin and I have attended the Race for the Cure in Pittsburgh. I have no plans to attend next year. The first year I was inspired. This year I have a level of disappointment that must reflect a change in me, because the Race seems pretty much the same. What has changed in me? Well, the event that triggered the creation of this blog, a diagnosis of diabetes. Today's Race for the Cure provided an opportunity to show support for my cousin, who is a survivor, but she, like me, has diabetes. At the Race, there is lots of commercial promotion tied to breast cancer awareness, involving megasponsors like Ford and New Balance. I get the marketing connection and the need of advertisers to connect with the female demographic. What I don't get is the prevalence of food that is at worst, bad and at best, inappropriate to be associated with this event. I thought, and I am by no means an expert, that our Western diet is known to contribute to lifestyle related diseases and certainly obesity, which is a risk factor for breast cancer. So does it seem weird to you that they were serving donuts, bagels, ice cream, custard and birthday cake at 9 o'clock this morning? Next year, I plan to Sleep-In for the Cure -- by the time I registered this year, the Sleep-In pillowcases were all gone. Maybe those people have the right idea: avoiding temptation for a good cause.

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